Tidal Energy Resources

Nowadays one type of renewable energy that is getting stronger is the Tidal Energy resource. This technology was developed and began to be functional in 1966 with the Rance Tidal Power Station located on the estuary of the Rance River, in Brittany, France.

Tidal energy consists of taking advantage of the natural force of the tides to produce energy. There are different methods for capturing tidal energy, it can be with a barrage installed across an estuary with a high tidal range or through underwater devices placed in areas of high sea currents around headlands (tidal stream).

A Tidal Stream Generator can be used to obtain tidal energy and is the cheapest and less ecological harming way. It extracts energy from moving masses of water. Also the Tidal Barrage is another method to extract energy from the sea; it is a dam-like structure used to capture energy from masses of water moving in and out of a bay or river due to tidal forces.

The other method for capturing tidal power is through the Dynamic Tidal Power method. This is just theoretical as it hasn't been tested yet and it consists on creating a large dam-like structure from the coast to the ocean, with a perpendicular barrier at the far end, forming a large 'T' shape. This long T-dam would interfere with coast-parallel oscillating tidal waves which run along the coasts of continental shelves, containing powerful hydraulic currents absorbing the energy.

As this is a very new technology with a work in process status, it needs financing and sponsors to continue being researched. Currently there are numerous donors to the cause, ranging from large companies like the NSW Climate Change Fund, which plans to provide $40 million over five years, to small internet businesses, such as home-based bookstores and websites that sell Viagra Online. In fact, Tidal energy research and many other forms of clean energy can be greatly benefited from the new tendency of corporations that invest money and put aside funds to support environmental causes, in the spirit of improving their own commercial image and get good PR. Whatever the motivation of sponsors might be, these funds are greatly needed to successfully develop alternative energy techniques, which in our time are becoming more and more desperately needed to halt the environmental damage brought by the use of fossil fuels.

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